The Last
by Araiona Dubois
Summary: The Ninth Doctor takes Rose and Jack to a small shop in central New York State before it closes its doors forever. But is this innocent trip for snacks actually something much, much more?


**Author's notes: Don't own anything. :) This is my first Doctor Who fic (well, excluding that one-shot crossover...), so let me know if I've screwed up something or if I've made some nasty grammatical error or something. Hope you enjoy it!**

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**The Last**

The TARDIS stopped and Rose looked at the Doctor in confusion. She glanced over at Jack who, in turn, shrugged.

"I thought you said we were staying in the Vortex for a while?" Rose asked.

The Doctor headed for the door without a word. With one hand he held the door open and he looked over his shoulder.

"Well, are you coming?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rose replied as she grabbed her jacket and followed the Doctor.

-

Rose looked at her surroundings. In front of her was a huge building with the words 'Happy Valley Mall' in bright pink letters above three sets of double doors. She turned around and looked at the Doctor.

"What is this place?"

Jack answered before the Doctor could open his mouth.

"It's a shopping centre… Doctor, why have you taken us to a shopping centre?"

The Doctor took a step towards the double doors.

"You'll see," he replied.

-

They sat on a mall bench in front of a small pretzel shop. They just sat there and watched the employees as they worked. After ten minutes the Doctor spoke.

"I've taken you to New York. Not the city, mind you. We are in central New York in a small town called Paradox. Today's date is August 26th in the year 2007."

Rose looked at the Doctor.

"But why here? Is there going to be some sort of an alien invasion or something?"

The Doctor shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Nope."

Jack watched a blonde haired lady roll a piece of dough on the counter. She then proceeded to flip the dough in mid air creating a pretzel. He shifted his gaze from the lady to the Doctor.

"Is there anything special about this place?"

"Nope."

It seemed as if the two weren't going to get an answer from the Doctor as to why they were here anytime soon. So they just sat and watched customer after customer purchasing pretzels and drinks. They watched the girl at the register smile at the customers. They watched the blonde haired lady roll more pretzels and a tall man took the pretzels and dipped them in a solution before placing them in the oven. They then saw the lady cut off a small piece of dough and roll it in her hands. With a smile, she pelted it at the oven-man, hitting him square in the nose. After a roar of laughter, and a promise of revenge, the man picked up the piece of dough and threw it back. The lady ducked and the dough hit the glass. The manager walked out of the backroom and scolded the two on their 'childish behaviour' but the two didn't listen to her and they both ganged up on the manager.

They seemed to be having a wonderful time. They laughed, they worked, they showed the customers respect and treated them like family. All in all, the shop looked like a great place to be.

In the corner of her eye, Rose caught the Doctor smiling.

"What's so funny Doctor? Why are we even here?"

The Doctor sighed and finally decided to explain.

"I've traveled everywhere and seen things beyond imagination. You two have done the same as well. Rose, you've seen the end of the world, aliens crashing into the Thames, Daleks, and time-reapers. But the one thing you haven't seen is the true and honest results and consequences of everyday actions. This place makes the best pretzels in the world and tomorrow it'll be gone. All gone…"

Jack narrowed his eyebrows.

"War?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Nope… money. Money: the root of all problems in this world it seems."

Rose shook her head in confusion. What was the Doctor going on about?

"What do you mean by money?"

The Doctor pointed to the store.

"This place has been here since 1979 and today is its final day. The customers don't know it yet but the employees do. You can see it on their faces. Behind the laughter and the rolling of pretzels they're crying. The lease runs out tomorrow and even though the owner would love to renew…"

He trailed off in thought. The blonde haired lady caught his eye and she stared at him for a second before continuing her job.

"Doctor? Then what?"

He shook his head.

"It'll cost too much. The mall owner decided to raise the rent. It'll cost more money to keep the shop there then they could make in a year. It's a pity too… they made the best pretzels…"

After a moment of silence the Doctor continued.

"The blonde rolling pretzels… she's been there since it opened. It's the only life she's ever known…"

"But she'll be able to find another job. Shop's close all the time…" Rose replied.

The Doctor nodded.

"You'd think so but no. She'll be dead by the end of the week. Suicide actually, gun to the temple."

"But why?"

The Doctor thought for a moment about how he would explain it to Rose.

"She started that job at fourteen. She started as a sample girl then moved up to register and throughout the years she's told her friends and family she would get a job elsewhere. But she can't do it and do you want to know why?"

Rose nodded but it appeared as if the Doctor was going to continue even if she shook her head no.

"I'll tell you why: because to her this place is family. Every day she's here. Even on the weekends. Sometimes she'll even put in twelve hour days. Shoulda seen her during the Christmas holiday. She was here every day for twelve hours for an entire week. It was the love of her job that kept her going. Sure, we sit here and look at her work and we think it's just a silly little job that takes no skill to do. But what we don't see is love for something greater then a job. The people she works with have become a closer family then her own blood family."

Rose lowered her voice.

"But then why would she kill herself?"

"Because there's nothing left…her world was destroyed. The ones she worked with all had jobs lined up elsewhere but she didn't even stop to find a new place. She couldn't, you know. She'd never fit in. This place was special… and no one else could ever understand."

"But she's not the owner right? Wouldn't the close affect the owner more?" Jack asked.

The Doctor nodded.

"Course it would. Owner was found dead the very next day. This place was the only one in existence… the owner created the recipe by himself and his family opened the shop in this very spot…"

"Is that girl family then?"

The Doctor shook his head.

"Nope. She was the first non-family member to be hired though."

Rose was going to ask a question but with one look at the Doctor's face, she realised something strange was going on inside his head.

"It's hard to be the last when everything you've known has been destroyed. These employees will never find another job that brings them this much happiness… this town will never see another shop like this one. Once it's gone it's gone for good and even a time machine won't bring them back. It's all gone…everything… and I can't bring them back…"

The Doctor seemed to realise he was letting on more then he wanted them to know. So he shook his head and stood up. He turned and smiled at his companions.

"Well come on then. Let's get a pretzel."

-

They sat back down on their bench and munched on the pretzels.

"This is delicious," Rose mumbled between bites.

The Doctor nodded.

"Told you so."

Jack took a sip from his cherry Dutch-Ice and smiled. His teeth had turned a bright red and Rose couldn't help but laugh. She elbowed the Doctor but was met by a smile of blue teeth. The Doctor had gotten a blue raspberry Dutch-Ice and now he had a blue mouth.

Jack looked over at the shop and saw the register girl smile at him. He smiled back.

"Wonder what her name is," Jack mused.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Down boy, we'll have none of that."

-

After they finished their pretzels the Doctor walked back up to the counter and counted out a hundred dollars. He placed it on the counter.

"Your pretzels are fantastic," he said.

He turned to leave but he heard a voice from inside the shop. He turned around to see the register girl pointing at the money.

"What's this for sir?"

The Doctor smiled.

"For you. Split it amongst yourselves," he replied. And with that he joined his companions.

-

They went back inside the TARDIS and Rose rested her hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her and in her eyes he could see love and understanding.

"I know why you brought us here. I want you to know I'll be here and I know that doesn't amount to much in the long run but…"

The Doctor placed one of his fingers over her mouth. She leaned forward and hugged him and for a moment everything felt okay.


End file.
